An original Gemini Boiler Plate Capsule, standing approximately 9.5 feet tall and weighing an impressive 2 tons. All of the panels are stamped Manned Space Center stamp-numbered “MSC 312” with exception of one replaced crew access door which is “MSC 206.” The cradle is stamped “MSC 503.” The windowless empty interior has two weights attached to the ceiling, with five additional weights on the floor to reproduce the weight distribution of the control panels and positioning. A central column is also present in the interior which would have held a Rogallo wing at one point before it was re-purposed and reconfigured. This particular example was rescued as a ‘barn find’ in the late 2000s after having been originally purchased from surplus auctions at the Rockwell Downey facility in the late 1970s. Capsule has had some cosmetic restoration, with the addition of new paint and lettering. In overall very good condition, with aforementioned painting, as well as some scattered areas of cosmetic pitting and rust-through, none of which affects the structural stability of the capsule.
Boilerplates were first used during the early stages of the Mercury Project. Constructed at a fraction of the cost of a fully functional capsule, these boilerplates were an economical way to test various load and handling characteristics that would be encountered during the mission. This boilerplate would have been used primarily for testing watertightness, flotation collars, and egress procedures. Most boilerplates are on display in various museums, bases, and schools, with only two known in private hands. Note: Winning bidder is responsible for cost of shipping capsule from origin to destination. Please call RRAuction for more information. RR Auction COA.
Bidding for the Space and Aviation Auction opens Nov 13, 2014 & ends Nov 20, 2014
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Official color 8 x 10 NASA lithograph of the Apollo 11 crew posing in their space suits against a lunar background, signed in blue felt tip by Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, and in black felt tip by Buzz Aldrin. In fine condition. A very nice example of the most historic and avidly collected Apollo mission. Pre-certified Steve Zarelli and RR Auction COA. From The Robert Shaw Collection.
Lunar Module Ascent Engine Cover Shield Assembly. Aluminum plate, anodized a striking red color, measures 23″ in diameter, and engraved with “Caution Step With Care,” and “Remove Before Flight,” as well as two lines of instructions near the top. Part numbers on pads on the reverse side have been evenly worn, probably from use. Cover is signed in silver ink by James Lovell, Rusty Schweickart, Dave Scott, John Young, Buzz Aldrin, and Edgar Mitchell, each adding their missions under their signatures. In fine condition, with some expected scattered light surface marks. Accompanied by a print-out of a NASA photo of the inside of the Apollo 12 Lunar Module showing the Ascent Engine Cover at the bottom. A seldom-offered artifact, enhanced by the additional signatures of six astronauts who relied on the engines protected by this piece. Pre-certified Steve Zarelli and RR Auction COA.
Extremely well-documented Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop computer used by Bill Clinton to transmit the first-ever presidential email, sent to John Glenn while he was in outer space during NASA’s STS-95 mission. The laptop is complete with its external floppy drive, a floppy disk, and power cords. While orbiting Earth aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on November 6, 1998, Glenn sent President Clinton an email that read, in part: “This is certainly a first for me, writing to a President from space, and it may be a first for you in receiving an E mail direct from and [sic] orbiting spacecraft. In any event, I want to personally thank you and Mrs. Clinton for coming to the Cape to d/see [sic] the launch. I hope you enjoyed it just half as much as we did on board. It is truly an awesome experience from a personal standpoint, and of even greater importance for all of the great research projects we have on Discovery. The whole crew was impressed that you would be the first President to personally see a shuttle launch and asked me to include their best regards to you Hillary. She has discussed her interest in the space program with Annie on several occasions, and I know she would like to be on a flight just like this one. We have gone almost a third of the way around the world in the time it has taken me to write this letter, and the rest of the crew is waiting.”
Collection of 11 color crew photos, 10 NASA 10 x 8s and one glossy 10 x 8, each signed in felt tip by complete crew. Missions are: 38, 42, 61 (signed by only 5),109, 82, 98, 92, 123, 113, 104, and 128. In fine condition. Pre-certified Steve Zarelli and RR Auction COA.
Ink and felt tip signatures of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Charles Conrad, and Gene Cernan on off-white cards; gold ink signatures of Alan Bean and Alan Shepard on black cards; felt tip signatures of Edgar Mitchell and Harrison Schmitt on matted down color photos; a small color photo of Jim Irwin signed in black felt tip; and individual commemorative covers signed in ink by Dave Scott, Charlie Duke, and John Young, with signatures of five other members of the Space Shuttle pilot panel on Young’s cover. All signatures are grouped together by mission and impressively double-matted and framed with color photos of each moonwalker, their respective mission patch, and a large color poster of Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface, to an overall size of 65 x 44. In fine condition. Oversized. Pre-certified Steve Zarelli and RR Auction COA.
Flown, complete STS-6 Entry Checklist, flown into lunar orbit on board Space Shuttle Challenger during the STS-6 mission. Checklist measures 5.5 x 8, is bound with its three original rings to the left border, and contains 104 pages (52 individual sheets). Arranged into 11 tabbed sections, the manual covers the critical maneuvers and procedures for a space shuttle to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, land, and close-out. There are 12 pages with in-flight writing by Paul Weitz, and several pages with pre-flight writing and notations. Signed on the front cover in black felt tip by Weitz, “Flown on STS-6, Paul Weitz, CDR,” and signed by Weitz inside the front cover with a handwritten letter of provenance, in full: “I hereby certify that this Entry Checklist was flown aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-6. It was utilized to ensure that all necessary evolutions occurred as required. It is from my personal collection of artifacts.” In fine condition. Complete shuttle checklists are extremely rare, as many are broken up page by page. This is an especially important example, as it details one of the most critical moments in spaceflight and comes from a historic mission, STS-6 being Space Shuttle Challenger’s first journey into orbit. Pre-certified Steve Zarelli and RR Auction COA.
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